1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to materials handling systems and more specifically to estimating dimensions of items and groups of items therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many companies package groups of items together for a variety of purposes, such as e-commerce and mail-order companies that package items (e.g., books, CDs, apparel, food, etc.) to be shipped to fulfill orders from customers. Retailers, wholesalers, and other product distributors (which may collectively be referred to as distributors) typically maintain an inventory of various items that may be ordered by clients or customers. Similarly, manufacturers may maintain an inventory of parts and/or materials for use in manufacturing processes. This inventory may be maintained and processed at a materials handling facility which may include, but is not limited to, one or more of: warehouses, distribution centers, cross-docking facilities, order fulfillment facilities, packaging facilities, shipping facilities, or other facilities or combinations of facilities for performing one or more functions of material (inventory) handling. In order to make better use of inventory stocking space, it may be desirable to stock different items together in a single storage location or stocking area, and to select the storage location or stocking area to maximize space utilization in the materials handling facility. Additionally, groups of items may need to be placed in various containers prior to shipping, such as when picking items for an order and transporting them to a sorting or packing station. Selecting inappropriate containers for storing or conveying the items within the materials handling facility and selecting inappropriate shipping containers may increase costs, in terms of inventory space, container costs, shipping costs, and item damage.
Storage and packaging of groups of items may be made more space-efficient when an appropriately sized storage area or container is selected based on the total dimensions of the group of items. However, the storing or packing agent may not know the dimensions of each of the items in a group. An agent may instead select a storage area or container based on a visual assessment of the items once they are grouped. Using this method, the agent may not be able to select an appropriate storage area or container until all of the items in the group have been collected.
A common concern with such groups of items, referred to herein as “item packages,” involves ensuring that appropriate containers are used for handling them, both to minimize costs and to protect the item contents. The visual method described above may be prone to human error, as an agent may select a container that is too small or that is larger than it needs to be. This may result in higher costs associated with using an inappropriate container or in additional costs associated with re-work, in the case that an agent must re-package the items. For example, shipping a group of items in a box that is larger than necessary may result in a higher shipping cost than shipping the same items in a smaller box, due to the cost of the box and/or any higher fees associated with shipping larger or heavier boxes. Similarly, storing items in inventory areas that are larger than necessary, or not filling each inventory area to capacity, may waste valuable (and expensive) warehouse space. In another example, attempting to store an item in a bin that is too small for the item may damage the item. Determining appropriate containers for handling items in a materials handling facility is difficult if the sizes of all of the items are not known.
Ensuring appropriate handling of items is made even more difficult in situations in which a company has a very large number of diverse items that may be included in package contents, when the available items can frequently change (e.g., to add new items that become available, as well as to remove discontinued items or items that are otherwise unavailable), when some or all of the available items are provided by third parties (e.g., third-party sellers), and when the items themselves may change over time (e.g., due to a change in the packaging of a particular item and/or changes in the item itself).
One technique that may be used to determine the total dimensions of a group of items is to determine the actual dimensions of each of the items and to mathematically combine them. Vendors of particular items may provide the dimensions of those items when they are shipped to a materials handling facility or may provide this information in a catalog of their products. Commonly it is necessary to manually measure other items in the materials handling facility as they are received or picked for packing, adding costs and opportunities for human error. Scanning devices, such as a CubiScan™ machine, may be used to measure each item, but these also require labor on the part of an agent, adding costs and further opportunities for error.
Another concern in a materials handling facility involves ensuring that the correct items (according to an order or packing list) are included in the contents of item packages. Such content accuracy is not only very important for customer retention and goodwill purposes, but also for inventory control, tracking purposes, and the costs associated with inaccurate item contents (e.g., handling customer support calls and item returns for packages shipped to customers).